Notes / Commercial Description:
Harpoon Celtic Ale features a deep amber color. The flavor is malty and complex. Celtic Ale has a moderate hop finish that, along with the generous amounts of malt, makes for a medium bodied, smooth, rich beer. Try serving Celtic Ale with a hearty stew… the beer’s robust character will complement the bold flavors.

It’s a dark red, almost mahogany, colored red ale with a thin white head and an abundance of carbonation. It has a malty smell. It has a strong malty, yeasty taste with a little bit of fruitiness and a little bitterness and a crisp dry finish despite being a fuller body than many reds. I applaud it for being a robust red ale, but the hops are little more than I’m used to in a red ale. All in all not a bad red, but nothing too special either. Some of the craft breweries in San Diego in my opinion have better examples of the style despite not really being a red ale kind of town.

Pours a red and amber color, head quickly dissipates into a thin lace that dissapeared towards the end. Roasted malty aroma, dark fruits and some wood. Malty, and fruity, and a dry finish. Light to low medium bodied feel, drinkable and refreshing. A solid brew.

04/05/13 On tap at Rattle N Hum, NYC. This is malt, malt, malt. Not shy at all. Surprisingly refreshing for something so assertive. Nice body & not sweet. Noticeable, but not in an in your face kind of way.

I picked this up at the Binny's store in Bloomingdale, IL as part of a build-your-own six pack for $9.99, making it $1.67 for a single 12oz bottle. No freshness date, but since this beer is only brewed from January to March, and this is already December, it's certainly not fresh off the assembly line, but it''s still under a year old, so it should still be OK.

The beer poured a perfectly clear red/amber color with a 1-finger off-white head that dissipated quickly and left no lacing.

The beer had a slightly sweet malty and bready smell along with a touch of alcohol.

Bready and roasted malt flavor with some caramel sweetness, as well as a touch of cherry fruitiness underneath. The finish has some mild hop bitterness to it (26 IBU's) as well as some alcohol, which I didn't expect from a 5.4% beer.

Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

It's OK but not spectacular. Their website lists it as a good session beer, and it should be with a 5.4% alcohol content, but I couldn't down many of these due to the noticeable alcoholic flavor.

Harpoon Celtic Red has a thick, cream-colored head, a bit of thin lacing, some streaming bubbles, and a clear, reddish-brown appearance. The aroma is faint, but bread crust, some sweetness, and a touch of sourness can be detected with deep inhalations. Taste is of the same, with a harsh and unpleasant bitterness in the mid-to-end of the sick. Mouthfeel is light and watery, and Harpoon Celtic Red finishes lager like- crisp, clean, refreshing, and mostly dry. Some alcohol shows up in the throat. Overall, this just does not taste very good. I don’t recommend it.

A: Pours a clear deep copper to amber in color with light to moderate amounts of visible carbonation and some golden orange + red highlights. The beer has a finger tall foamy off-white head that quickly reduces to a very thin film covering about 75% of the surface of the beer and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Light to moderate aromas of caramel malts with a touch of light fruit sweetness and some floral hops.

T: Upfront there are moderate flavors of toasted caramel malts with a hint of light fruit sweetness. Light amounts of earthy and floral hops towards the finish which impart a light amount of bitterness that fades rather quickly.

M: Just shy of medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Slightly thin.

O: Pretty easy to drink and a little better than other offerings in the Irish red style. Not a favorite for me but I could easily have a couple of these in a single session.

Pours a medium amber color, full fluffy white head, moderate retention. Scent is pale and mild with notes of caramel malts and stale grassy hops. Taste brings a bit more to the table... caramel malts still dominate with only a light touch of hoppyness, quite grassy, earthy. Lighter bodied and heavily bubbly. Really felt like I had a Vienna lager as opposed to an Irish Red. Just too light and fizzy for me.

Taste: Sweet caramel and bready malts with just enough hops to keep it honest.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a dry finish. What little aftertaste there is disappears quickly.

The Verdict: Not bad. An above average Irish Red, it’s a good solid choice for a night of dancing and debauchery or a day of celebrating the arrival of spring. Maybe not a brew I’ll look forward to with anticipation each year, but not one I’d turn down either.

Though I'm not a huge fan of reds, this is probably one of the best that I've had thus far. The taste seems to be a combination of alcohol, which is odd considering the ABV, and malt. It's quite enjoyable as a yearly St. Pat's drink.

Pours a clear distinctive red with a slightly brown hue. Hardly any head on the pour - instantly hit with a candied-yam kind of sweet malt. The sweetness on the nose is a little over-powering but the carbonated and lightly hopped profile make for a really nice well-balanced red. The label boasts that its both a deep-winter kind of beer as well as a spring. I'm not really sure about that, but I would definitely drink this on any day paired with a boiled dinner! Having a steak au poivre right now with some wonderful sharp cheddar (anyone following me may start seeing a pattern here...)

Overall pretty nice! I would love to try a different Celtic Red style to compare.

A: Less than one finger, almost white head. The beer itself is deep copper in color

S: Sweet malts, some fall honey, and caramelized sugars.

T: Sweet malt up front, which is quickly balanced by a sharp, but not too strong, hop bitter that finishes with a subtle citrus and honey flavor.

M: Medium body and carbonation, which I suspect is normal for the style.

O: I believe this to be a high quality example of the style. It is at least to my liking, although I am not a huge fan of Irish red ales or red ales in general. This brew has a solid malt backbone that carries it through a decent amount of complexity for the style. I wouldn't hesitate to pick this up the next time I get a rare hankering for an Irish red.

O: Let's face it, this isn't the greatest or most appreciated style of beer and while it's one I used to appreciate, I've grown away from it. Never-the-less, this beer is just about spot-on for the style. Not a bad beer.

notes: the taste cannot live up to the amazing nose but it is pretty good, easy to drink and easily the best Irish Red I've had. Actually, it reminds me of Bass Ale. I only bought a single bottle of this but this being St Patrick's Day I will go forth and buy a 6 pack of this. I could drink this all day long.

Appearance –Served a mahogany colored brew with ruby like highlights and a small off white head. The head fades rather fast to leave a persistent film on the top of the brew.

Smell – The aroma is heaviest of a sweet caramel smell mixed with notes of lightly roasted malt and a biscuit smell. Mixed with these are some aromas of a buttery toffee and a light grassy hop.

Taste – The taste begins with a lightly roasted bready flavor as well as some caramel sweetness. As the taste advances further some toffee, biscuit, and some fruit flavors a apple and a light cherry come to the tongue. The flavors remain relatively constant throughout the rest of the taste until the end where a light citrus and herbal hop flavor come to the tongue.

Mouthfeel –The body of the brew is on the medium side in terms of its thickness and creaminess with a carbonation level that is on the average to just below average side. The medium body and carbonation suit the drinkable and lightly roasted and sweeter flavors of the brew quite well. Very appropriately done.

Overall – A decent red ale. It has an easy drinking and non-complex flavor profile that has nice smoother flavors which makes a good beer to have while enjoying the company of other.

Pours a dark copper with a foamy khaki head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Small streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of toasted malt, caramel, slight hops, and some nutty aromas. Taste is much the same with malty and caramel flavors on the finish. There is a medium amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that is tasty and easy to drink.